Our industry-oriented course curriculum is a unique hybrid of theoretical and practical aspects that ensures a collaborative learning process through interactive sessions with film industry experts, and hands-on experience of practicing the craft on a regular basis.
Our students also undergo rigorous study in several co-curricular studies like Film Appreciation, International Art Literature Culture, Production Design & Music.
Degree courses in Filmmaking are accredited by the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development.
Member of ISC (Indian Society of Cinematographers)
Head of Department
Mr. Ashwini Kaul is a graduate from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. He began his career by working on various advertising TVC and corporate films before he began his journey in films. He has worked on various award-winning fiction, non-fiction feature films, short films and also shot films in 3D. He went on to conduct workshops at FTII and Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT) and has authored article on photography for photography magazines. His association with Whistling Woods International has been more than a decade old where he heads the department of cinematography.
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Krishhnamurthy
Faculty
Krishhnamurthy
Faculty
Mr. Krishhnamurthy has spent over 39 years in the Indian film industry and has had a remarkable career throughout. He holds a Diploma in Cinematography from Pune Film Institute. He kick-started his career as a director of photography and worked with industry-stalwarts like Pramod Chakravorty, Hema Malini, Jeetendra (in the movie Dream Girl) at the beginning of his career. He has worked with numerous incredible Indian films as First Assistant and an Operative Cameraman and worked with some of the best actors of Indian film industry like Dharmendra, Dev Anand, Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Rekha, Sharmila Tagore and many more. His area of expertise extends to the Televisions series and Corporate films as well. Mr. Krishhnaurthy has worked on about 200 ad movies too.
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Chandrashekar Iyer
Faculty
Chandrashekar Iyer
Faculty
Mr. Chandrashekar Iyer has studied BSc from RUIA college, Mumbai. He is an active member of W.I.C.A (Western India Cinematographers Association) managing committee and Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal. For the past 18 years, he has been a member of the Indian film and television industry, working as a cameraman and assistant cameraman over feature films, documentaries, AD Films, and TV Series. Mr. Iyer has also done TV serials in Marathi, Gujrati Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada. He has won state award and zee award for the Marathi movie he worked. His remarkable portfolio includes films for Dubai Duty-free, AD films for Johnson’s baby brand, promotional films for Europe Tourism and much more. For many years now, he has been affiliated with Whistling Woods International and is a sought-after professor in the department of cinematography.
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Manoj Peter
Faculty
Manoj Peter
Faculty
Mr. Manoj Peter holds a Postgraduate Degree (Science) and Postgraduate Diploma in Cinema from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, specialising in cinematography. Before joining FTII he was actively involved in theatre. His diploma film ‘A Brief Journey’ at FTII, directed by Kavita Joshi, was selected in the 6th International Student Film Festivities-Aviv, in France in 1997 & for Indian panorama screening (International Film Festival of India, 1997). Having experience of 26 years in the industry, he began his career as an associate cameraman with India’s leading award-winning cinematographers in various Indian and international productions including feature films, commercials, documentary films, multi-cam shoots for Disney, POGO, Sab TV, BBC, NGC, MTV, and other channels. He has worked in award-winning feature films and contributed to Karan Johar’s ‘KKHH’. Some of his notable work includes promotional Film on Polio Vaccination for WHO featuring actor Amitabh Bachchan for BBC, and ‘Pride of India’ series, for StarPlus.
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Sanjana Oswal
Faculty
Sanjana Oswal
Faculty
Sanjana has a BSc. Degree in Physics and Photography from Fergusson College, Pune, and an Advanced Diploma in Filmmaking, with a specialisation in Cinematography, from Whistling Woods International, Mumbai. She has worked as an Assistant Cinematographer with notable DOPs from the industry on feature films, web series, commercials, TV promos, and music videos for production houses like T series, Tusshar Kapoor Entertainment, Alt Balaji, OML Entertainment, etc. She won the Best Cinematographer award at the Madras Independent Film Festival in 2021 for her film ‘The Nightingale’.
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Venkatesh Pilla
Faculty
Venkatesh Pilla
Faculty
Mr. Venkatesh Pilla is a Whistling Woods International alumnus, and has worked on various short films, music videos, fashion online promos and AD films. He also possesses knowledge about film lights, key grips for motion picture camera and operating motion picture cameras.
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Abhijit Mazumdar
Head of Department
Direction
Abhijit Mazumdar
Head of Department
Mr. Abhijit Mazumdar is a direction alumnus of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. His portfolio includes some the award winning regional short films and tele films. One of his directorial venture won a National Award for Sound Design. Couple of his films were showcased at some of the renowned film festivals across the world like Glasgow Short Film Festival, Karlovy Vary Short Film Festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, Torino Film Festival He has also been a jury member for Short and Non-Fiction films at the Indian panorama Film Festival in 2016. His association with Whistling Woods International started more than a decade ago as a faculty and now he heads the Department of Direction.
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Paresh Kamdar
Faculty
Paresh Kamdar
Faculty
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Sahil Gada
Assistant to Faculty
Sahil Gada
Faculty
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Sudipto Acharyya
Faculty | Head of Affiliations & Academics, Short Course Unit
Sudipto Acharyya
Faculty
Mr. Sudipto Acharyya is and alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, in direction and screenplay. He further pursued his master’sdegree in Film Studies from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. His independent work portfolio includes a wide range of movies for both Hindi and Bengali Cinema, including Film, TV, and Corporate Films. Mentoring students on their dialogue and diploma film scripts, Sudipto Acharyya has been at the forefront of conducting numerous workshops across the country for his students. He was an active participant in recent CILECT conferences in Lithuania, North America, and Johannesburg. He is part of an Artistic Research project involving BRICS nation that looks at social interstices with the help of cinematic practices.
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Vedanti Chandrakant Dani
Faculty
Vedanti Chandrakant Dani
Faculty
Ms. Vedanti Chandrakant Dani holds a diploma in Film Directionfrom Whistling Woods International. She started her career as a writer, director, and editor working on Marathi feature films and continued to assist with various short films, web shows, and ads. She has written and directed 32 short films and two movies; at various film festivals, many of which have been awarded forbest screenplay, best director and best film. Vedanti Dani has been a panelist at the Jaipur International Film Festival and a member of the jury. She also takes workshops throughout in theater and screenwriting on an ongoing basis.
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Sharad Raj
Faculty
Sharad Raj
Faculty
Mr. Sharad Raj has more than 20 years of experience in the identification and development of TV assets of high quality. From conception to telecast, he has successfully powered several projects. Mr.Sharad Raj has been an integral member of the core team of Zee TV and one of the two Indian consultants to Channel 9, the Australian television giant. He holds a Film Direction degree from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune and a New York Screenwriting diploma. He started his career as a director and worked on many short films and feature films, and as a senior creative director, he has successfully conceptualised and released 24 shows. Mr. Raj has just completed his debut feature film, ‘Ek Betuke Aadmi Ki Afrah Raatein’ starring Adil Hussain and the film is currently doing rounds of film festivals. It premiered at Toulouse Indian Film Festival and will be released in France early next year.
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Prashant Naik
Head of Department
Editing
Prashant Naik
Head of Department
Mr. Prashant Naik, a reputed National Award-winning Film Editor, is a working professional as well as Head of Department, Editing, School of Filmmaking at Whistling Woods International. Prashant, specialised in Editing at the FTII, Pune, after completing a Graduate degree in Law and a Post-graduate degree in Commerce. His FTII Diploma film Punaravritti received the National Award in the Best Short Fiction category.
Prashant won the National Award for Best Editing for the film Harvest of Hunger in the Non-Feature Film category from President Dr. Abdul Kalam. He has done live editing for Cricket World Cup match between India and Australia in Wankhede Stadium in the year 1996.
Over the years he has edited several corporate films, ad films, promotional films and documentaries and feature films. He has been one of the curators for MAMI, an International Film Festival in Mumbai attracting films from all over the world. He was a former Board Member – Syllabus Committee for Editing at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad and KIIT, Bhubaneswar.
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Vivian Pimenta
Faculty
Vivian Pimenta
Faculty
Mr. Vivian Pimenta has been associated with Whistling Woods International, since 2006. He has extensive experience in instruction on Avid Media Composer Editing Workflow, and DaVinci Resolve Colour Correction.Mr. Pimenta is an official Avid Certified Trainer- Media Composer Editing 101/110, and also a DaVinci Resolve Certified Trainer.
He was previously employed with Film and Television Institute, Pune, in the Editing Department over a period of 4 years.He is presently involved in training film school students on Avid and Resolve workflow, coupled with project support. His industry experience includes working with Sony Broadcast and Professional Group, in the area of Television studio business.
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Rajesh Parmar
Faculty
Rajesh Parmar
Faculty
Mr. Rajesh Parmar is a two-times winner of the National Awards in Non-Feature Film Editing as Best Editor for Sanchari (1991) and Colors of Absence (1993), both films directed by Arun Khopkar. He then worked as an editor on several award-winning feature films and non-feature films. One of such film ‘Art in Exile’, was an opening film at IFFLA, Los Angeles. An FTII alumnus with an editing degree, Rajesh Parmar has previously been a member of the jury, Non-Feature Films for the 46th National Film Awards, IDPA (Indian Documentary Producers Association), and curator of a few MAMI Film Festivals. In addition, Mr. Parmar created AD films for Visa, FIFA World Cup, Taj Hotels, Mercedes and edited 150 odd ads. He recently has also written the script for an Odiya feature film, ‘Spandan’.
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Ashif Ahmed
Faculty
Ashif Ahmed
Faculty
Mr. Ashif Ahmed has worked as a Supervising Editor for StarGold, Utsav Movies, Movies OK and StarGold Select. He has also done Projects for Barclays Premier League, Serie A, LA Liga, Ashes, Formula 1, Wimbledon etc. His past associations include Star Sports, Star TV Network and Doordarshan.
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Rabiya Nazki
Head of Department
Producing
Rabiya Nazki
Head of Department
Ms. Rabiya Nazki is a versatile and seasoned professional with rich experience in creative producing, script writing, direction, film production, account management and strategic planning. Working with well-known organisations across arts and entertainment, she has produced ad films, corporate AVs, fiction and non-fiction shows. Before joining Whistling Woods International, she launched the HS18 Channel of Network18 and headed the programming department. Her association with Whistling Woods International began more than a decade ago where she began as a senior professor – Producing Department and now heads the department. She mentors students’ projects from ideation till the final execution.
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Rahul Puri
Head Academics
Rahul Puri
Faculty
Rahul Puri is the Managing Director of India’s leading entertainment company Mukta Arts Ltd. & Head of Academics of India’s finest creative education institute, Whistling Woods International. A business graduate from Kings College London, Rahul started his career as an investment banker at UBS Warburg. Rahul moved to Mumbai in 2002 and worked in the sector of Corporate Finance & Strategy before he joined Mukta Arts Ltd. to produce and distribute Indian films.
Rahul is now involved in all aspects of the company including financing, distribution, production, exhibition and marketing. He was keenly involved in the set-up of Whistling Woods International and now is setting up and building out a chain of Cinemas under the brand name of Mukta A2 Cinemas.
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Prakhya Vasudeo
Faculty
Prakhya Vasudeo
Faculty
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Sagar Malkar
Facultya
Sagar Malkar
Faculty
A passionate Media Producer & Entrepreneur, is Whistling Woods International alumni with a specialisation in TV & Film production. He is the Founder and Director of ‘The Juvenile Media’, a boutique Production and Marketing agency that concentrates on Digital Marketing, Digital and Television Media Production, TVC’s, DVC’s, Animation, Talent Management, and Influencer Marketing. As the Director of The Juvenile Media, Sagar has produced live action as well as animated TV commercials for 50+ Clients, some of which are for Brands like LIC, RPG, UPL, ICICI Bank, MARS, ASUS. He has also assisted brands Like Axis Bank, Amazon, Paytm, Bajaj Finserv, Croma, KFC and many others with Marketing solutions, Live/ Digital Events, and Influencer Marketing activities.
Sagar has produced 15+ Short Films which have won awards at film festivals like Critics Choice Award, International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Bangalore Indie Film Award, Sydney Film Week, IFH National Film Awards, Missouri Independent Film Award.
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Sumant Abhyankar
Faculty
Sumant Abhyankar
Faculty
Mr. Sumant Abhyankar has over 12 years of academic as well as film production experience. He completed his engineering in Electronics and Telecommunication and holds a master’s degree in Mass Communication and Electronic Media. His vast experience includes, having worked with institutes such as Reliance Education and Seamedu, he has also worked as a Creative Associate in Feature films, assisted in writing for film and television, and written for corporate videos, animation explainer videos, and other short films.
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Sukruth Sudhakar
Visiting Faculty
Sukruth Sudhakar
Visiting Faculty
Sukruth Sudhakar is currently working as Producers’ Executive Assistant at Guilty By Association Media to Producers Amar Butala and Garima Mehta. He is an Alumni from the Producing Batch of Whistling Woods International, where he topped his batch bagging the special commendation medal and was also the first-ever Producing student to bag the Sunanda Murli Manohar Producing Scholarship. He did multiple projects that were part of the curriculum, and his films were selected for various film festivals such as the Lift Off Film Festival, USA, KIFFI, Jaipur, River to River Florence Festival and so on.
He was also part of various projects outside of the curriculum during his course, such as Pink Power for Inorbit mall and a project in association with Motion Pictures Association- all as a Creative Producer. He then moved on to Dharma Productions where he worked on various feature films like Good Newz, Shershaah and the pre-production of Karan Johar’s Takht as a Production Assistant. He has been actively doing Commercials and Promo shoots as a Freelance Production Executive for Clients like Netflix & Amazon Prime. He is currently working on several projects with his current company, Mission Majnu, BULL, A Netflix Original to name a few.
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Vishnu Tenkayala
Visiting Faculty
Vishnu Tenkayala
Visiting Faculty
A birth-child from his many travels, Vishnu Tenkayala intends to encapsulate the many stories he encounters through his lens. Not shying away from shooting with different mediums, Vishnu is always keen to experiment. Highlighted by his films often shot on Drones or even an iPhone apart from conventional cinema-grade cameras.
A double scholarship awarded, Vishnu graduated from Whistling Woods International, Mumbai in the year 2020 at the top of his class and is currently working as a freelance Cinematographer based out of Bangalore, India.
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Vineeja Suresh
Visiting Faculty
Vineeja Suresh
Visiting Faculty
Vineeja Suresh is a wide-ranged media professional with experience in entertainment journalism, casting for ads and movies, script writing for fiction and non-fiction, ads, television and films, and creative producing for short format digital content. She specializes in all forms of creative writing, particularly in fiction. She, currently, works as a freelance writer, experimenting with the different ways storytelling can be effectively used in different fields of work. She runs 2 youtube channels; a food channel and a channel for storytelling.
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Mrinalini Tiwari
Visiting Faculty
Mrinalini Tiwari
Visiting Faculty
Mrinalini Tiwari is a Producer with over 16+ years of experience in the Media and Entertainment space. She Recently produced a viral ad under her company Mystic Eye Entertainment.
With a certification in Producing from Whistling Woods International and associations with notable names like Raj Kanwar, Ashutosh Gowarikar and Youtube, under her belt, she has donned different hats each time, including direction, acting and PR, and producing number music videos and ads, the experience of which cumulatively make her the immensely effective Producer she is.
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Shraddha Thorat
Visiting Faculty
Shraddha Thorat
Visiting Faculty
Shraddha Thorat began her career in 2017 with Dharma productions. She worked on various films such as Dhadak, Made in China, Hum Do Humare Do, and Bheidya. Currently, she works as a line producer with Maddock Films.
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Rashmi Alag
Visiting Faculty
Rashmi Alag
Visiting Faculty
Presently working for Yash Raj Films in Production. Just completed her work in the film Bunty Aur Babli 2. Former Internship at Balaji Motion PicturesPast: Perfect Relations Pvt Ltd and Wonder Welders. Studied at Whistling Woods International Film School Mumbai.
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Medha Khanna
Visiting Faculty
Medha Khanna
Visiting Faculty
Medha Khanna is an independent filmmaker from Chhattisgarh, presently based in Mumbai, India. She is a graduate of Whistling Woods with a specialization in film producing. Medha also has a diploma in screenwriting from Anupam Kher’s Studio and psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. She has switched roles and been part of many short films and music videos as a producer, writer, editor, and production designer.
Self-taught, she is also an exhibited contemporary artist. Her single-line drawings were displayed at Tiraf, Delhi, followed by White Space, Chennai. Her recent work, Lockdown Learnings, a collection of polaroid photographs, was a part of Q417, Bhilai.
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Abha Talesara
Visiting Faculty
Abha Talesara
Visiting Faculty
Abha Talesara is a producer with a decade of experience in the international and domestic media industry, across platforms such as Films, TVC, OTT, Documentaries, Theatre, VR, etc. She also consults on creative development, legal, production, marketing, and distribution strategy. She is on the advisory board for Lekh-Haq – a Cultural Impact Company and has been on the selection committee for Film festivals including Kashish International Queer Film Festival. As a mixed media artist, her works have been exhibited at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Sadhna Dell’Arte, Dumas Art Project, Whitefield Art Collective among others. She has been an Inlaks Scholar and participated at various artist residences and labs. Abha is a visiting Faculty at Whistling Woods International and K. C. High. International and Associate Professor of Media Studies at L. V.
Prasad Film and TV Academy. Her current research interests include gender and cinema, marginal spectatorship and law, ethics, and New Media
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Nilakshi Sengupta
Visiting Faculty
Nilakshi Sengupta
Visiting Faculty
A postgrad in English literature, trained at Mashav Israel, London film school, and Sundance Co Lab, Nilakshi Sengupta is a director-producer for over 20+ years and has worked in Entertainment, FMCG, Banking, Healthcare, Hospitality, Travel-Tourism, Railways and Agriculture industries. She has directed-produced TV commercials, corporate content, documentary films and short content that are both scripted and unscripted. Her advertising work has been for Hindustan Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Monsanto, Tata Rallis, Times group, Indian Railways and Tourism, Godrej and Andre Agassi’s Square Panda. Her Television work has been for BBC India, CNN India, Times Network International, Sony and Doordarshan. Nilakshi is the Indian films Curator of the New Castle UK International film festival. She is a jury of Bengali Filmfare awards in India and the 47th Boston Sci-Fi film festival. Her 30 minutes short film ‘Meeting in the Mountains’ was selected in Kerala and LA short film festivals and is live on Shorts TV. Her podcast ‘Just One Question’ interviews technicians and actors across India. Her books ‘Tina and her Magic Kettle’ and ‘Tina goes to Pompeii’ are available as E & Audiobooks. Currently in pre-production are her debut feature film BLUE: The Colour of Guilt and documentaries GRIT, English language theatre of India and The Indian Carnival.
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Yugshrestha Karpatne
Visiting Faculty
Yugshrestha Karpatne
Visiting Faculty
Yug presently heads ad-film production house Boathouse Media as the Producer of 400+ TV / Digital Commercials working with 100+ brands, associating with various celebrities. Having a desire to share his filmmaking knowledge with upcoming filmmakers, he is a Visiting Faculty member in WWI, where he has conducted 30+ short workshops on Budgeting, Scheduling, Film Finance, etc. He spearheaded a team that created online filmmaking courses for Virtual Academy.
His passion for movies had made him quit his business and study Film Producing. While as a student in WWI – he topped his batch, won the best producer award along with a scholarship, worked on a Hindi feature film & episodic documentary, and produced around 30 short films with one of them shot in the USA. His short films currently on OTT viz. 500 Rupees, Binodini, Dhachka, Baashinde, etc. have earlier won numerous prizes in film festivals internationally including nominations in Filmfare.
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Anupama Bose
Visiting Faculty
Anupama Bose
Visiting Faculty
Anupama Bose is a Producer – Curator. She has set up Makhijafilm with filmmaker Devashish Makhija to make independent spirited genre films that traverse universal themes, and engage in strong, uncompromised narratives rooted in people, cultures, identity conflicts and human dilemmas. Over the years she has designed and produced short and long-form content, campaigns, events, community programs. She has been Head of Development, Phantom Films (2012), and was with the National Film Development Corporation’s Film Bazaar as the Curator–Producer, Knowledge Series & the Producers’ Workshop (2014-2018). Her last stint was as COO, MovieSaints – a Philadelphia based Online Box Office & now a Distribution Solutions Provider for curated Indies. They have pioneered Hybrid releases in India. She enjoys teaching and has been Adjunct Faculty for the Producers’ Programs at the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, Kolkata and Whistling Woods International School for Film & Television, Mumbai. In all her engagements she endeavours to create opportunities, solve problems and mentor talent. I believe that every little job well done goes a long way in adding to the foundation and eventually nurturing an ever-evolving edifice.
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Sabyasachi Bose
Head of Department
Production Design
Sabyasachi Bose
Head of Department
Mr. Sabyasachi Bose graduated from the Government College of Art and Craft, Calcutta (now, Kolkata) in 1992. In 1994, he began working in the field of Production Design first with Bijon Das Gupta, then Sanjay Dhabade and finally with late Samir Chanda.
He has been involved in film projects that include ‘Raja’ (1995), ‘Barsaat’ (1995), ‘Gupt- The Hidden Secret’ (1997), ‘Judaai’ (1997), ‘Chocolate – Deep Dark Secrets’ (2005) and ‘Krrish’ (2006), besides TV serials such as ‘Chandrakanta’, the theatre production ‘Legend of Rama’, along with shows such as ‘Manikchand Filmfare Awards’, ‘Hum Ek Hai’, and ad shows for companies like Samsung, Onida, BPL, Tata, Britannia, MRF Tyres, Apollo Tyres, Times of India, Anandalok, etc.
Simultaneously, he has participated in art exhibitions such as, ‘Exhibition’ organised by ‘Indian International Art Centre’ at Kolkata in 1992, ‘Annual Art Exhibition- 1996-97’ organised by ‘The Art Society of India’ (Mumbai), ‘9th Harmony Show’ organised by the ‘Art Trust’, co-organised by the ‘Textile Division, Reliance Industries’ at Mumbai (2004) and ‘Art Watch’ organised by ‘Galerie 88’ at Kolkata (2004) etc.
He has been associated with Whistling Woods International for more than a decade and currently working as the HOD in the Production Design Department, WWI. At WWI, he also teaches History of Art courses.
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Rohit Kumar
Faculty
Rohit Kumar
Faculty
Mr. Rohit Kumar a graduate from the Asian Academy of Film and Television, Noida with 17 years of extensive experience in the industry in almost all aspects of the business. His knows 360° approach to Media & Communications and has experience in taking a project right from conceptualisation down to its final execution. His portfolio ranges from TV channels, production houses, to filmmaking and all working with the stalwarts of the industry. He works in multiple format of filmmaking both technically and creatively.
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Santosh Raut
Faculty
Santosh Raut
Faculty
Mr. Santosh Raut who passed out from “Model Art Institute” Mumbai in 1992, soon started working in the field of Production Design first with Nitin Chandrakant Desai and then with Sanjay Dhabade. He has been involved in film projects and TV serials that includes “Chanakya”(1990), “Mriganayani” (1993), “1942: A Love Story” (1994), “Akele Hum Akele Tum” (1995), “Baazi” (1995), “Katha Doan Ganapatravanchi” (1996), “Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), “The Hero: Love Story of a Spy” (2003), “Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo” (2004), “Chocolate: Deep Dark Secrets” (2005), “Vivah” (2006), “Ek Vivaah… Aisa Bhi” (2008), “Khulay Asmaan Kay Neechay” (2008), “Veer” (2010), and an international project named “The Other Side of the Door” (2016). Simultaneously he was also involved in shows like “Manikchand Filmfare Awards”, “Sansui Film Awards”, “Zee Film Awards”, “Hum Ek Hain”, “Zee Music Awards”, “Lata Mangeshkar Sangeet Rajani”, “Aasha Bhosle Show”, “A. R. Rahman Show” at Dubai besides promotion shows for companies like “BPL, Samsung, LG, and Britannia”. He is currently working as the “Set Construction” faculty in the Production Design department, WWI.
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Anjum Rajabali
Head of Department
Screenwriting
Anjum Rajabali
Head of Department
Mr. Anjum Rajabali is a veteran screenwriter, with films like Drohkaal, Ghulam, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Raajneeti, and Toofaan (under production) to his name. He has also been a script consultant and advisor to numerous films, most recently Mulk, Article 15, Thappad.
In 2004, he designed and created India’s first full-fledged Screenplay Writing department at the Film and Television Institute of India at Pune and was its Honorary Head for 12 years. Since 2006, he has been the Founder-Head of Screenwriting at Whistling Woods International, Mumbai.
He regularly conducts screenwriting workshops and masterclasses in India and abroad, and has convened several national screenwriting conferences, seminars, fellowships, script contests for Indian screenwriters.
He was chosen for the ‘Leading International Teacher’ 2019 award by CILECT, the association of more than 180 major film schools across the world.
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Ashwini Malik
Faculty
Ashwini Malik
Faculty
Mr. Ashwini Malik went to India’s premier film school, Film & Television Institute of India (FTII), to study Film Direction. His graduation film, The Waiter in Slow Motion, was in official competition at the prestigious Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 1995. Ashwini began his career in television, and wrote, directed and produced many fiction and non-fiction shows, including several hour-long thrillers in the popular Saturday Suspense series. In 2002, he directed his first feature film, Clever & Lonely, which was shown at many international film festivals. Since 2004, Ashwini has been involved in teaching Screenwriting and regularly conducts masterclasses and workshops in India and abroad. He has been a mentor at several script labs, including New Voices Fellowship for Screenwriters (by Asia Society), Mumbai Mantra Cinerise Screenwriting Programme, the MAISHA film labs in East Africa, NFDC’s script development workshop and the Indo-German Screenwriting programme. Most recently, he presented a paper at the CILECT Congress 2019, in Moscow. His screenwriting credits include I Am, Road, Movie and Sorry Bhai.
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Vikas Sharma
Faculty
Vikas Sharma
Faculty
Mr. Vikas Sharma is a professional screenwriter of the Hindi film industry, a freelance script consultant, and a full-time senior faculty of Screenwriting at Whistling Woods International since January 2016. Before Whistling Woods, he taught scriptwriting at the Film and TV Institute of India, Pune, from April 2011 to December 2015. He conducts screenplay writing workshops in India and abroad for Film Schools, Media Colleges, Universities, Film Festivals, Skill India Programme, etc.
Vikas has also been a mentor and an advisor for various script labs and fellowships such as Asia Society’s New Voices Fellowship for Screenwriters, 100 Storyteller Programme, Cinerise Screenwriting Programme, Cinestaan India’s Script Contest, to name a few.
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Juhi Shekhar
Faculty
Juhi Shekhar
Faculty
Ms. Juhi Shekhar has had an outstanding career in the film and television industries. She has written scripts for major banners such as Anil Kapoor Productions, Planman Motion pictures, Ram Gopal Verma, and Yellow Pictures by Anand Rai. In television, Juhi has written screenplays for Gumrah, the show was awarded the best crime show at ITA and Favorita crime Drama at Peoples’ choice. Her contribution to Star Plus’s Arjun got nominated for ITA in the best screenplay category. Ms. Shekar also developed scripts and creatives for a Marathi show Tanishka for Saam TV. She worked as 2nd assistant director on a serial produced by UTV called ‘Bombay talking’ directed by Anand L Rai and telecasted on Z café, and even directed 26 episodes of a talk show called, “Yaadein” for Door Darshan. Her directorial experience includes working as an assistant director on Manish Jha’s feature film Anwar and on Anand L Rai’s “Thodi life thoda magic”. Her rich portfolio includes writing, co-production and acting in a 15-minute short film on female child abuse named “MOAM” shown on NDTV Profit- The Indie Film Club. Juhi also collaborated with Mr. Shahrukh Khan on an Ad film for Nokia.
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Ipek Ghashghaie
Faculty
Ipek Ghashghaie
Faculty
Ms. Ipek Ghashghaie has undertaken her bachelor’s degree in Direction from Sooreh Art University, Tehran, Iran and diploma in Screenwriting from Whistling Woods International.
She started her career directing documentary films in Iran and acting in theatre.She wrote a couple of short screenplays that have been made by her along with other directors. The same were screened at international short film festivals,of which the latest wereZinebi Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Films 2019.
Ipek has proven expertise in writing short and feature scripts and developing original ideas.Currently, she is writing series for Iranian TV and working on featuresand short scripts as a freelance writer.She has taken part in various international filmmaking workshops and has the experience of seeing and being a part of the filmmaking process in different cultures.
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Sudipta Basu
Head of Department
Sound Recording & Design
Sudipta Basu
Head of Department
Mr. Sudipta Basu is a Sound Recording and Engineering Diploma graduate from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. He is the first Indian engineer to successfully design and fabricate the first Indian made Forward-Reverse projector to run in Interlock with Westrex Rock & Roll recording system in standard speed reverse. He singlehandedly installed the first such system at the studios in India. He has worked as a sound recordist for some renowned directors. Twice he was a member of the Technical Committee of IFFI (International Film festival Of India; held in Kolkata). He was also a member of the Technical Committee and Academic council of The Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata. He has been associated with Whistling Woods International for more than a decade and now heads the department of Sound Recording & Design.
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Rakesh Ranjan
Faculty
Rakesh Ranjan
Faculty
Mr. Rakesh Ranjan has over 43 years of working experience in Hindi Cinema and has worked with leading Producers & Directors in over 170 Features. Some of the stalwarts that he has worked with include names like Sunil Dutt, Subash Ghai, Ramesh Sippy, Saawan Kumar, Mahesh Bhatt, Prakash Jha, Raj Santoshi, Sunny Deol, David Dhawan, Dharmendra, Abbas Mustan, Ajay Devgan, Vikram Bhatt, Mani Ratnam, Aziz Mirza, N Chandra, Anees Bazmee, Simmi Garewal, Rohit Shetty, Prabhudeva and many more. He has worked in projects like Souten, Naam, Sadak, Ghaayal, Andaaz Apna Apna, Ghatak, Mrityudand, Damini, Barsat, Paredes, Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, Taal, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, Yaadein, Ashoka, The Legend Of Bhagat Singh, Aitraaz, Main Hoorn Na, Guru, Race, A Wednesday, Dillagi, Aks, Black & White, Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahani, Paan Singh Tomar, Raavan, Golmaal, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster, Singham, Chennai Express, Satyagrah, Phata Poster Nikla Hero, Singham Returns, Action Jackson, Jai Gangajal, Golmaal Again, Simmba, etc. He has received a number of accolades and recognition for his work which include 4 Filmfare, 2 Screen, 1 Zee, and 1 IIFA. AUDEUS, a recording division of Mukta Arts was designed by him, bringing digital audio post-production into the Hindi Motion Picture Industry. He also designed DHWANI, a recording division of Prakash Jha Production.
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Bhaskar Roy
Faculty
Bhaskar Roy
Faculty
Mr. Bhaskar Roy, a graduate from FTII, Pune, is a professional sound editor, location sound mixer, film sound mixer, and system integrator. He has worked with renowned professionals of the Indian Film Industry like Yash Chopra, Subhash Ghai, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Konkana Sen Sharma, Rituparno Ghosh, Sudhir Mishra to name a few. His notable projects include films like Black, Bluffmaster!, Kaanchi, Rang Desh among others.
Bhaskar Roy is an Avid Certified Trainer and has also worked as a part-time instructor with Fairlight Inc.
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Tanmoy Basu
Faculty
Tanmoy Basu
Faculty
Mr. Tanmoy Basu has an academic background of B.S.C in Economics, Masters in Sociology and PG Diploma in Audiography from FTII Pune.As a sound student in FTII he learned to love sound and since then he has been working as an independent sound designer for films, many of which have got numerous awards in national and international film competitions. He has also learned Indian classical Music from pandit Rajendra Kulkarni and has been working as a music composer as well for various Ads, short films, Animated films and TV shows.He is also a founder member of a Mumbai based musical band named GANGOTRI. His research work ‘Violin Making and challenges’ is a published matter in LENSIGHT magazine and opens out the a scientific understanding of how global warming can affect the acoustical musical instruments.MrBasu is currently member of Governing Council of Media and Entertainment Skill Council.
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Salim Arif
Head of Department
Culture Studies
Mohammad Salim Arif
Head of Department
Culture Studies
Mr. Salim Arif is an illustrious alumnus of National School of Drama, New Delhi. A well-known name in the field of Indian Theatre and Films, Salim Arif is currently the Head of Culture Studies at Whistling Woods International, Mumbai. He is also associated with Ladakh International Film Festival and Navi Mumbai Film Festival as Director, Cultural Affairs.
Shyam Benegal’s Bharat Ek Khoj, Gulzar’s Mirza Ghalib, Dr. Chandraprakash Dwedi’s Chanakya got him International recognition as a Period Film Designer of substance. Nirja Guleri’s Chandrakanta, Ketan Mehta’s Sardar Patel, Gulzar’s Maachis & Hu-Tu-Tu, Govind Nihalani’s Takshak and Anil Sharma’s Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo are his other films as a Designer. He has been a consultant for period details in Anil Sharma’s Gadar and Mani Ratnam’s Guru.
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Anushka Jadhav
Faculty
Anushka Jadhav
Faculty
Anushka Jadhav is an Educator and Artist who conducts workshops, talks and teacher-trainings — along with developing curriculum — on Gender and Sexuality in educational institutions around the country.
She majored in Anthropology & Literature from St. Xavier’s, Mumbai, and holds a Master’s in Education from SNDT University. She’s the curriculum in-charge at Whistling Woods International along with being the faculty for Culture Studies.
As an educator focused on gender inclusion, she has been invited to conduct sessions at institutes such as BITS Hyderabad, IIT Mandi, IIITM Gwalior, IIITDM Jabalpur, PESIT Bangalore, Mallya Aditi International, UWC Mahindra among others and have been featured in publications such as Hindustan Times, Homegrown, Scroll, YouthKiAwaaz, LiveMint, TheBetterIndia etc.
In the past, she’s worked on the planning and program-curation of on-ground conferences and conventions on issues of gender and identity, such as Gaysi Family’s Zine Bazaar (in association with Max Mueller Bhavan) and has also co-founded an educational trust aimed at situating gender advocacy within education and bridging the gap between activism and academia.
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Kshitiz Sharma
Head of Department – VFX
Kshitiz Sharma
Head of Department – VFX
Mr. Kshitiz Sharma, a CG artist and an academician in the field of Visual Effects and Animation, his career spans over a period of over 16 years. A CGI expert, he has donned several roles including that of a technical supervisor, modelling supervisor, 3D supervisor and have worked with various animation production houses across the globe on national & international projects.
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Avik Chakraborty
Faculty
Avik Chakraborty
Faculty
Mr. Avik Chakraborty is a CG Compositor expert with 7 years of industry experience with specialisation in Lighting. His expertise also includes Stereo Conversion, Matchmoving& Keying to create & execute projects of various capacities.
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Chaitanya Chinchlikar
Head of the Department
Chaitanya Chinchlikar
Head of the Department
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Vivek Kandasamy
Faculty & Creative Technologist
Vivek Kandasamy
Faculty & Creative Technologist
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Sumedh Sawant
Creative Technologist
Sumedh Sawant
Creative Technologist
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Karan Taley
VFX Supervisor
Karan Taley
VFX Supervisor
He is the VFX Supervisor at the Emerging Media Lab. He also overseas and creates workflows for virtual production and VR to train the upcoming generation of filmmakers with all emerging mediums. A VFX artist responsible for creating, managing, and optimising visual effects and animations for VR and Virtual productions, Karan completed his graduate degree in filmmaking with a focus on visual effects. Due to his extensive knowledge and expertise in this area, he joined the Whistling Woods International research team to look for new opportunities and processes to speed up and simplify the filmmaking process. He began his career in visual effects with AD films, short films, and a few feature films. Several of his films have been shown at prestigious film festivals around the world, including the Cannes Film Festival, the Chicago Film Festival, Jio MAMI, and the IFFSA Toronto.
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Rushikesh Hande
Lab Technical Associate
Rushikesh Hande
Lab Technical Associate
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Aadhithya Sindol
Project Coordinator
Aadhithya Sindol
Project Coordinator
An alumni of Whistling Woods International, Aadhithya Sindol, graduated from the School of Media & Communication. Currently, he is a trainee in the department of Emerging Media Lab as a Project Coordinator and is pursuing to become a creative technologist in Virtual Reality and Virtual Production sector.
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Deepkumar Borude
Production Assistant
Deepkumar Borude
Production Assistant
Deepkumar Borude is an Independent Producer and Assistant Director. He completed his filmmaking degree from Whistling Woods International with specialisation in Producing. He has worked in various advertising, television and film production houses. He has a knack for software’s, movie magic scheduling and movie magic budgeting. He has also produced various short films that have gone and done rounds of many international film festivals. He has also pitched projects at Film Bazaar, National Film Development Corporation of India and been a part of events at Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry.
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Alumni Speak
Shashank Khaitan
Director, Producer
Ketan Rana
Postman Pictures & Director Of Dekh Le
Sohel Sanwari
Sound Designer & Mixer
Abhishek Jain
Founder, CineMan Productions Limited
Abhishek Jain
Coming from a non-film family background, Whistling Woods International proved to be my entry into the world of cinema. Though it has been over a decade, I still distinctly remember my first day at the campus. In fact, most of my best memories so far has WWI in its epicentre. Be it the infrastructure, faculty, placement, masterclasses, industry exposure or the evaluation process, everything has been so wonderful and smooth that I never felt I am unaware of the film background. Here, at WWI, I made friends for life and now we work together professionally too. Every new recruitment drive for my production house starts and ends at WWI. Till date, I go back to the film school to learn and unlearn this ever-evolving medium. I am grateful and truly blessed to have WWI as my alma mater, don’t know if I wouldn’t have been here, where would I be, today.
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Chahat Sawant
Celebrity Manager, CAA KWAN
Chahat Sawant
Hailing from a non-film background, Whistling Woods International has given me a perspective for a better career into films and film aesthetics. WWI helped me build knowledge in all the aspects of film making. The faculty has trained us not only on the theory bases but also practically. Whistling Woods International is the right place to start a career into the media and film industry. Because of WWI, I feel working professionally is much easier.
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Vinay Jogi
Production Assistant, Dharma Productions
Vinay Jogi
I was always interested in how films are made and what all goes behind the scenes to make a film. I came across the name Whistling Woods International and later after giving a few thoughts I felt that there can be no better place or institution than WWI to pursue Filmmaking and Media Studies. All our faculties of the respective departments always welcomed us with our queries and doubts. The curriculum helped me know my skills better and which department I should specialise in the final year. WWI has also been a great place for my personality development. I don’t think I would have ever been a part of such amazing masterclasses with all the top-most personalities from Hindi Cinema, at a very young age. 5th Veda sessions and masterclasses are the events where many of the well-known personalities from the industry come and speak about their art and experience in the field. After I graduated from WWI, the placement cell with their constant efforts kept encouraging us with how to go ahead with the growing industry and guided us according to our specialisation and our capabilities.
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Raghuveer Joshi
Director, Happy Family Pvt Ltd
FAQs
What are the different programmes offered at the WWI School of Filmmaking?
The WWI School of Filmmaking offers 4 different types of filmmaking courses: BSc in Filmmaking, MA in Filmmaking with Specialisations, MA in Screenwriting, and Diploma in Screenwriting, we provide a comprehensive curriculum for anyone who wants to be part of this industry.
Do I need any filmmaking experience to enrol at the WWI School of Filmmaking?
No, you don’t need to have filmmaking experience to enrol at the WWI School of Filmmaking.
What accreditation does the WWI School of Filmmaking have?
Whistling Woods International is affiliated with Bharathidasan University, approved by UGC, and recognised by AICTE. Furthermore, all programmes offered are under an agreement with Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development – an Institute of National Importance.
Are student loans available for the filmmaking course?
Yes. there are student loans available for fee payment through Financepeer. 6-month EMI option available at low interest and 0 cost. For more information contact 8875718106 or 9653412566.
What is the application procedure for the filmmaking programmes?
You can apply online at Whistling Woods International. There is a Rs. 3000/- application fee followed by an entrance exam. The entrance exam consists of a General Aptitude Test, Creative Ability Test, Statement of Purpose, and a Personal Interview.
What is the duration of the different filmmaking programmes at WWI?
BSc in Filmmaking | 3 Years
The undergraduate programme is designed to provide aspirant filmmakers with a solid foundation in filmmaking, as well as inculcate in them a deeper understanding of the world around them.
MA in Screenwriting | 2 Years
The objective of this 2-year, 4-semester course is to help create professional screenwriters. They will develop writing skills that will help them write for a wide range of themes and plots, for cinema as well as for OTT platforms.
MA in Filmmaking with Specialisations | 2 Years
The programme starts with a foundation course, which immerses students in the craft of filmmaking. Students go on to acquire filmmaking degrees with a specialisation in their specific areas of talent.
Diploma in Screenwriting | 1 Year
The programme prepares students to become professional screenwriters with a deep understanding of the craft. It empowers them to write on a range of topics in varied genres for Indian as well as international cinema.
Why is WWI considered to be the best film institute in India?
Whistling Woods International is one of the best film institutes in India. We have a proven track record with over 3500+ of our alumni thriving in the media and entertainment industry. Our 5.5-acre campus is located in Mumbai’s Film City with a unique and enthralling environment for growth for all aspirants. Our curriculum, faculty, workshops & masterclasses, internship opportunities and hands-on experience etc., are all part of a concoction of a nurturing environment we promise to deliver.
